MINNEAPOLIS, MN.-The Walker Art Center presented the third Internet Cat Video Festival this evening and the peoples choice award, the Golden Kitty, was presented to 8 Signs of Addiction created by Rob Moore.

Chosen by online voting the Golden Kitty was shown as the finale of the festival and was awarded by Will Braden, Festival Curator, former Golden Kitty winner, and creator of Henri, Le Chat Noir. In the winning video, Shorty the cat knows what its like to battle addiction; shes got it bad for her catnip banana. From obsession to hitting rock bottom, Shorty and her best buddy, Kodi, demonstrate the 8 Signs of Addiction in this hilarious commentary.

Video creator Moore comments, When I brought Shorty home from a shelter nearly four years ago I knew she was a star. The fact that so many others now think so is just awesome. Its also a great opportunity to remind people that shelters are full of amazing cats like Shorty waiting to be adopted and that black cats are most certainly not bad luck! I hope that she brings as much joy to her viewers as she brings to me each day.

Moore is a digital media enthusiast who has been endlessly inspired by his cats and love of animals to produce The ShoKo Show on YouTube that has over 43 million views, 125,000 subscribers and 750,000 Facebook fans. He also works as a fitness trainer in Toronto where he instructs fitness classes and private clients. Find the cats online at www.TheShoKoShow.com

The YouTube playlist of videos from the festival is available via
http://bit.ly/catvidfest2014playlist

Catstarter: A Book about Cat Videos and What Makes Them So IrresistibleThe enormous popularity of the Internet Cat Video Festival begs the question: why we cant seem to stop watching cat videos? Attempting an answer is a new book of essays to be published in September 2015 by Coffee House Press, in collaboration with the Walker Art Center. Contributors include: Carl Wilson, Steven Burt, Joanne McNeil, David Carr, Elena Passarello, and others.

Last night, a Kickstarter to support the book launched at the Festival, and supporter rewards include early access copies, cat swag, and the opportunity for your cat to be part of cat video history.